


Where There's a Witch

by violet_storms



Series: sapphic september 2020 [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Sapphic September, Witches, ginny is a disaster gay, hermione is a giant dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26558125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violet_storms/pseuds/violet_storms
Summary: Two people dressed as witches, one Halloween party—Ginny Weasley probably should have predicted this one, but nothing about her night is going as expected.
Relationships: Cho Chang/Ginny Weasley
Series: sapphic september 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907998
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Where There's a Witch

**Author's Note:**

> _written for sapphic september 2020, prompt: "witches."_

“What?”

“I _said,_ the music is _too loud_ in here!” Hermione says, leaning forward.

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock!” Ginny shouts back. “It’s Fred and George—what did you expect? Some nice, quiet Mozart?”

Hermione gives her a withering look. “Get them to turn it down!”

Ginny sighs. Normally she’d make fun of Hermione in a situation like this, but the music is splitting her head, too. “Fine!” she says, pushing herself off the kitchen counter. “Get us drinks while I’m gone!” Hermione nods, and Ginny takes a deep breath, steeling herself, and enters the party.

The living room is a veritable maze of legs, arms, and costume parts. As she shoves through the crowd, Ginny makes contact with several pairs of wings and at one point has to duck Neville’s overenthusiastic lightsaber swing. She waves off his apologies, inwardly cursing the new _Star Wars_ movie. It’s amazing how many people the twins have managed to fit into their tiny apartment—if she didn’t know better, she’d think it was magic.

Lee Jordan is over by the speakers, and Ginny is relieved to see him there. Knowing her brothers, they’d pretend to mishear her and dial the volume up even more if she asked, but Lee gives her a cheerful grin when she calls his name and lowers the music without complaint. “Cool costume!” he tells her, and Ginny beams. “Thanks!”

When Ginny gets back to Hermione in the kitchen, her friend is holding a plastic cup in each hand. She offers one to Ginny, who glances down at the clear liquid. “You know I can’t drink, right?”

“I know—it’s Sprite.”

“Aww, you’re no fun.” Ginny boosts herself back up onto the kitchen counter. She and Hermione have chosen the prime viewing spots, able to see most of the apartment but out of the way from the chaos of dancing and talking. Ginny surveys the crowd. “I think we did pretty good on costumes this year,” she says.

 _“I_ did,” says Hermione. “I don’t know about you.”

“Oh please, everyone keeps calling you Galadriel.”

“It’s not _my_ fault they can’t see that this is clearly the Evenstar,” says Hermione, gesturing heatedly to her necklace.

“Yeah, yeah, but can you believe I’m the only witch here?”

“That says less about you and more about them.”

“Whatever,” says Ginny, grinning. “I think I look great.”

“You always do.”

“I _know,_ right?”

Hermione snorts into her cup. “Hey, there’s Ernie Macmillan,” she says when she reemerges. “He’s another political science major. Should I go say hi?”

“No, don’t leave me,” says Ginny immediately. “I’m the youngest person here, I don’t know anyone!”

“You know Neville,” suggests Hermione.

“Barely!”

“Hmm.” Hermione takes another sip of her drink, swinging her legs carelessly. “Gin, don’t look now,” she says out of the corner of her mouth, “But another witch just arrived.”

“What? Who? Where?” says Ginny, instantly craning her neck to see over everyone’s heads.

“Cho Chang. There, by the door.”

"Cho?" says Ginny, disbelieving. "What, Harry's ex, Cho? On my field hockey team, Cho? Really pretty, Cho?"

"Is there another Cho I don't know about?" asks Hermione. Ginny waves her hands at her dismissively. 

"How'd she get here?"

"Through the front door, probably."

“Hermione,” Ginny whines. Her friend shrugs. “Don’t ask me. She must know the twins somehow. Or not, I think this was an open event.”

“Huh.” Ginny watches Cho Chang moodily. She can’t see her very well due to a gaggle of Jedi knights blocking her view, but that’s definitely a pointed witch’s hat she’s wearing. “Stupid Star Wars,” she says aloud.

“I thought you liked Star Wars. You said you did when we went to see the new one,” says Hermione, sounding injured.

“Well, of course I did, I was with you—ooh, this song! I love this song!” Ginny says, sidetracked. “C’mon, dance with me!”

“You shouldn’t leave your drink—”

“Harry will hold it for me,” says Ginny, pulling Hermione down from the counter. She scans the room until she spots Harry’s blood-spattered zombie costume through the crowd and leans over the back of a couch to hand him the cup. He grins, lifting his arm from around Katie’s shoulders to take it. “Knock ‘em dead, Gin,” he tells her, and Katie gives her a high five.

Ginny and Hermione duck into the group of dancers and begin enthusiastically bopping in time with the music. Ginny takes Hermione’s hands and they spin around in loose circles, overcome with giggles. They’re in the middle of the second song when Hermione abruptly stops dancing, eyes narrowing as she stares over Ginny’s shoulder. “Is Ron drinking? Did he forget he’s our designated driver?”

“Hermione. Fred and George live _five minutes_ away from campus—”

“Drunk driving is a serious matter!” says Hermione, already heading toward Ron. “I’ll be right back.”

Alone, Ginny waves her arms above her head in a careless motion she’s pretty sure she saw someone do in a movie once. She thinks she pulls it off fairly well and decides to go for a livelier attempt—and _thwack!_ her left arm makes direct contact with someone’s face. “Oh God,” she says, turning to see who she’s hit, and finds Cho Chang bending down to pick up the pointed hat Ginny has knocked off her head.

“Oh,” says Ginny, at a loss for words as Cho straightens up, the right side of her face slightly pink. “Oh, no, I am _so_ sorry.”

“You’re fine,” says Cho, waving her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I love your costume,” says Ginny, the words flying out of her mouth before she can think better of them. She does, though. Cho’s witch’s outfit is completely different from her own, long and midnight black where Ginny’s is bright green and ruffled. She looks elegant and sophisticated, her dark lipstick giving her a gothic quality.

“Thank you,” says Cho, blushing slightly. “I feel kind of overdressed.”

“No, it’s great,” says Ginny sincerely. Cho smiles at her, and Ginny suddenly realizes that the other dancers have moved closer to the speakers, leaving the two of them standing slightly apart from the rest of the party. She desperately searches for something to say and comes up short, distracted by Cho’s perfect winged eyeliner.

“So, um, how are you doing?” Cho asks.

“Gay,” says Ginny clearly. Then horror washes over her. _“I mean great!_ I’m doing great.” Cho blinks at her, and Ginny puts a hand over her eyes. “Please kill me now.”

“No need,” says Cho, laughing. “I’m doing pretty gay, too.”

“Oh, well, good,” says Ginny, then instantly regrets it. _God, why do I exist?_

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen!” a voice interrupts, and Ginny looks over to see who her savior is. It’s George, who’s standing on top of a chair. “I regret to announce that this will be the last song of the night before we kick you out of our home. I know, I know,” he continues, to the sound of protests from the crowd. “Don’t worry, we’ll find an excuse to have all of you back over again soon. But for now...hit it, Lee!”

“Monster Mash” comes over the speakers, and a general cheer arises. Before she can think better of it, Ginny takes Cho’s hands and pulls her over to the ever-increasing group of dancers. Cho flings up her arms in an imitation of Ginny’s move from before, and Ginny mimics her, giggling.

“Wow,” says Ginny, calling over the music Lee has dialed up to head-aching levels once more. “Two ex-girlfriends of Harry Potter, dancing together. Who would’ve thought of it?”

“And we’re both into girls now! Think it’s related?” says Cho, and Ginny cackles.

“Maybe!”

“Maybe,” Cho echoes, and tugs her closer.

“Or maybe Harry just has exceptionally good taste in girls,” says Ginny.

“Are you calling me exceptional?”

“Mhmm.”

“I’m thinking I want to kiss you now,” says Cho, tilting her head up. “Good idea, bad idea?”

“I’ll mess up your lipstick.”

“That’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make,” says Cho, and pulls her in.

 _They did the mash, they did the monster mash_ is running around in Ginny’s head, and she feels people’s elbows and pointy costume bits knocking into her from every side, but she really doesn’t care. Cho tastes like black lipstick and cheap vodka and pumpkin spice, _and maybe,_ Ginny thinks, as the flashing lights dance behind her closed eyelids and her lips curve into a smile, _just a little bit like magic._


End file.
